Field



(No Model.)

C. 81,- H. BURG-0N.

ANIMAL SHEARS.

No. 468,217. Vmelma Feb. 2, 1,892.

UNTTED STATES CHARLES BURGON AND HARRY BURGON, OF MALIN BRIDGE, NEAR SHEF- PATENT OFFICE.

FIELD, ENGLAND.

ANIMAL-SHEARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 468,217', dated February 2, 1892.

Application iiled April 24,1891. Serial No. 390,252. (No model.)

To all wwm it may concern.-

Beit known that we, CHARLES BURGON and HARRY BURGON, both of Malin Bridge, near Sheffield, in the county of York, England, do `hereby declare the nature of our invention for Improvements in Apparatus for Shearing or Clipping Sheep or other Animals, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement. This invention relates to improvements in the instruments for shearing or clipping sheep or other animals, such as are described in the specification of a previous application for Letters Patent in the United States of America, led by the said Charles Burgen on the 13th day of October, 1890, Serial No. 368,0al. The present invention has for its object to enable the cross-head or forked end of the vibrating lever (by which the reciprocating motion is imparted to the upper cutters) to adj ust itself freely to the plane of the cutting-surface of the lower cutters, upon which the upper cutters work; and it has also for its object to pro vide an improved means of applying pressure to the upper cutters, so as (while causing them to bear at all times uniformly upon the lower cutters with the facility of self-adj ustment, as above mentioned) to maintain a constant steady pressure sutiicient to insure efficient cutting action without requiringr great nicety or care in making the adjustment.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whch- Figure l is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 a part sectional plan, of the machine.

The same letters of reference denote like parts in both figures.

A is the lower stationary cutter-plate having the usual combteeth a., acting as cutters in conjunction with the upper cutters b, which are formed on the upper cutter-plate B and reciprocated over the lower cutter-plate A by the vibrating lever C, which is pivoted on an axis c, formed by a screw-stud fixed in a rocking base-plate D, pivoted on a transverse axis d in the main frame E, the lever C being driven by a crank f, engaging with a groove 5o f and rotated by a longitudinal shaft passting-plates AB for the purpose of sharpening the cutters the grinding is liable to be nnequal at the two ends of the cutter-plates, so that the original plane of the cutter-faces is departed from, thus putting it out of parallel with the plane of oscillation of the Vibrating lever by which the cutters are operated.

In order to maintain a uniformly-distributed pressure on the cutters at all points of their stroke, the cross-head or forked end G of the vibrating lever O, which bears on and engages with the upper cutter-plate B, (and which in the application hereinbefore named is an integral part of the vibrating lever and consequently not able to compensate for the unequal grinding above referred to,) is by this invention made separate from the lever C and is pivoted thereto on an axis approximately radial to the axis of oscillation of the lever, or, in other words, coinciding in direction with the lever C, so that the cross-head or fork G, with its three pressing-points, is free to adapt itself to the varying surface due to unequal grinding. For this purpose the cross-head has a stem g, which is received in a corresponding socket in the end of the lever C and is secured from falling out by a screw or pin g', engaging in a notch in the stem., so as to permit freedom of adjustment in the circular direction. le do not, however, limit ourselves to this particular'form of connection between the cross-head and lever, as it is obvious that the same result may be obtained with other forms of connection. The pivoted cross-head or fork G bears on the upper cutter-plate B at two or more points and engages therewith by lugs h on the crosshead entering` holes in the plate B in the usual manner, and the cross-head, although pivoted as above mentioned, remains for the purpose of driving and applying pressure upon the cutters virtually a part of the lever C. The rocking plate D has a tail end or arm, which in the above-named application is acted AIOO on ,directly by an adj usting-screw Il, screwing into a socket at the under side of the main frame E, Wherebythe necessary pressure is applied through-the vibrating lever C to the cutter-faces. In order to avoid undue friction and to assist the pivoted cross-head or fork G in compensating-for unequal grinding, We interpose a spring h between the said adjustingscrew H and the tailV end of the rocking baseplate D. By? this means, While the pivoting of the cross-head or fork G enables it to adjust itself to the angle of the cutting-plane, the spring zfinsures thata uniform pressure shall be maintained at all parts of the stroke of the reciprocating cutters.

It should Ybe understood that we do not limit ourselves to the position of the spring h at the tail end of the rocking base-plate, nor to its use in conjunction with the adjusting-screw H, although such is its most convenient position in practice. The invention comprises the application of the spring to the rocking base-plate at any convenient point in conjunction or not With Yan adjusting-screw or its equivalent. n el Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what inanner the same is to be performed, we declare that what We claim isloi-ating lever having a cross-head or forked end pivoted to it, as described, the rocking base-plate carrying the lever-axis, and the adj ustinOi-scre'n7 or its equivalent for regulating the pressure of the cutters, of a spring interposed between the tail end of the rocking baseplate and the said screw, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In the herein-described shearing or clipping machine, the combination, Vwith the vibratin g lever and the rocking base-plate carrying the lever-axis, of a spring applied between the rocking base-plate and an abutment to cause the Vibrating lever to press upon the upper cutters, as described. g n

rlhe foregoing specication of our improvements in apparatus for shearing or clipping sheep or otherv animals signed by us this 2d day of April, 1891. Y

CHARLES BURGON.A HARRY BURGON.

lVitnesses:Y

WM. CLARK, Y Patent Agent, 53 Chancery Lcme, London.

T.' W. KENNARD, i Olm-7u, 53 Chancery Lane, London. 

